Numbers game

Steve Harmison, Andrew Strauss and Ashley Giles face key battles at Lords that could decide the first Ashes Test

We’ve heard plenty from the England and Australia camps about how the one-dayers have no relevance to the Ashes. The battle starts now, they declare.

Don’t believe a word of it. The NatWest Series, NatWest Challenge and Twenty20 international gave us glimpses of numerous skirmishes that will be revisited many times in the Ashes.

Blows were exchanged and small victories recorded. Some people cannot wait to renew acquaintances with certain foes, others are nursing battered egos. Perhaps the best news for England is that Steve Harmison appeared to establish an early hold over Matthew Hayden, who kept his big shots in the locker against the England strike bowler. Hayden scored 17 from the 50 balls he received from Harmison. Against that, he was out to him only once — and that courtesy of a wonder-catch from Paul Collingwood in Bristol.

Harmison, too, won early victories against Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn,